


Incremental Domestication (Or How Peter Worked His Way Into Tony's Bed)

by garbagesinboy



Series: Snapshots of a Soft Love- Starker Fluff Drabbles [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Romance, Short & Sweet, because im Big Gay and i live for self-indulgence, im gonna flood this fuckin ship with fluff and no one can fuckin stop me, im still doin fluff drabble prompts yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 17:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14753579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garbagesinboy/pseuds/garbagesinboy
Summary: Sometimes for Tony, big things can go unnoticed. Peter's got a way of working himself into Tony's life like that.---just some more fluff, a short drabble about how Peter ~*magically*~ ends up living with Tony, and about how Tony is a very oblivious person really. A fill for another prompt on tumblr, so that's fun. Enjoy!





	Incremental Domestication (Or How Peter Worked His Way Into Tony's Bed)

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello im Back On My Bullshit with more starker fluff, because i lack self control, because im a soft-core gay, and because people keep giving me fantastic suggestions. Wonderful people, such as [slothy-girl](http://slothy-girl.tumblr.com/):  
> , who's request was as follows:
> 
> ' _Moving in together :D Does Tony round-about ask Peter to move in while they're working on a project or theyre fighting crime cuz Peter just did a THING and Tony cant imagine not having Peter right there next to him all the time (a realization which of course eventually leads to thoughts of marriage maybe??) or did Peter just sort of move in without saying anything and it took Tony a while to notice, but once he did his mind was basically blown and he's surprised by how much hasn't changed??_ '
> 
> and that was fun as fuck to write, so i hope u all love this :V

Peter had moved into the Tower little over a year ago now, and that had been planned, appropriate,  _ necessary _ to be quite honest. Tony was actually the one to suggest the relocation, thought it would be easier on the kid since now he had graduated and would be taking classes at nearby NYU in the coming fall. It was also largely because Peter had been indoctrined as a full-fledged Avenger after the war, and become an integral part of the team. On top of all that, he was the front-running intern of Stark Industries now, and Tony’s official personal assistant. As such, he spent most of his time in Manhattan these days anyway, and in the end it just made sense that he make the move from the little apartment in Queens to the shared living space of his new team-mates. So moving into the Tower had really been a deliberate decision. Peter moving into Tony’s suite, occupying his living space, his bed, and well,  _ his life _ , frankly Tony had not seen that coming.

 

When he’d first moved in, Peter had been given his own room like all the other Avengers, of course. Tony had been there on moving day, helping unpack all the boxes and such, though he’d insisted and complained to Peter the whole time that he could have just paid someone else to do it. They’d filled up the space with all his nerdy gear, posters, photos, bought the kid a small house plant that died within a week. Peter made himself at home in the Tower, and then promptly never ever willingly slept in his own bed. 

 

It had started with accidentally falling asleep in the lab all the time, working late  _ late _ nights with Tony. Peter still looked up to the man too much for his own good. Always refused to go to bed until they’d finished this last project, worked out this final equation, ‘ _ Come on Mr. Stark, just 10 more minutes _ ’. Peter explained once that he just wanted to squeeze out every moment he could working with Tony, which was flattering and sweet and had left Tony blushing. But sadly, Peter definitely wasn’t built for late nights like his mentor was. Eventually the kid would always succumb to the seductive allure of passing out at his keyboard, or on the lab couch, or even once on top of a bot they had been working on. Tony found it all far more endearing than he was willing to admit. Peter was apt to fall asleep at the work tables fairly often, and after just a few weeks of working together, Tony couldn’t even count the number of times he’d ended the evening by carrying his young protege upstairs to his room. If he’d stayed a little longer than necessary, to tuck the kid in, to brush his hair back gently and think wistfully of how he’d like to kiss him goodnight  _ just once _ , well, he could keep that to himself probably.

 

Before too long, they had started hanging out more personally, outside of just work, which was wonderfully pleasant for Tony. They’d watch movies on calm nights, up in his top-floor suite with a big bowl of popcorn and a comfortable pile of blankets. They always sat delightfully close, practically on top of each other really, because Peter was always plopping himself down in the space at Tony’s side despite there being  _ plenty _ of room at the other end of the couch. The warmth of each other and the solid presence was comfortable, nice. Tony liked Peter’s never ending commentary on whatever film they were watching, liked the way the kid leaned into him. If Tony was feeling bold, and he often was, he’d wrap his arm gently around the kid’s shoulder and pull him in for some light cuddling (though if asked, Tony would adamantly insist that it was  _ not _ in fact  _ cuddling _ because Tony Stark did not  _ cuddle _ ). By the time the movies had ended, Peter could almost always be found deeply asleep on the soft couch, leaning tiredly on the man’s shoulder. Tony couldn’t say he ever minded that, would run his fingers gently through Peter’s soft hair. At first, he would carry Peter off to his own room, like he’d do when the kid knocked out like this down in the lab. Peter would whine softly against Tony’s chest, as he was lifted bridal-style off the couch and spirited away to his room. But the kid was kinda heavy, and honestly his room was just  _ so far _ . Before long, Tony stopped taking the kid downstairs at all and just let him sleep in the guest room up there. Peter didn’t seem to mind that in the slightest.

 

Those kinds of evenings went from ‘often’ to ‘most nights’ to ‘every night’ in the span of just a few short months. Tony certainly wasn’t complaining, spending his free time with Peter had become the best kind of refuge from the typical day-to-day stress of his life. Peter could more often be found up in Tony’s suite with the man or down in the lab than in his own designated room. Half a year after he’d moved in and one could probably count the nights the kid had spent in his  _ own _ bed on just two hands. The ‘guest’ room on Tony’s floor had been unofficially claimed by Peter, had accumulated a few spare pajamas and books here and there. Though Tony wasn’t willing to admit it, he was more than happy for Peter’s company.

 

They fell into domestic routine fairly easily it seemed; waking up together, taking most of their meals together, binge watching shows on netflix together. Any where that one would find Tony, you’d likely find Peter at his side. They just meshed so well, the type of pair that finished each other’s thoughts in the same breath as some good-natured bickering. Bruce had joked once in the lab that they’d become like a married couple, never separated and always up to their usual banter. Little did he know how right he would be.

 

Moving into Tony’s room had been a much slower process. A shift that happened in small increments, minor incidents, and so gradually that Tony hadn’t even noticed for quite a long time. It had started once with a nightmare, a terrible one, the whispered memory of Thanos dragged Peter kicking and screaming from his sleep. FRIDAY had alerted Tony to the kid’s distress, and he’d rushed to the guest room to find an anxious and sleep-bleary Peter fighting his sheets and the ghost of a Mad Titan. Tony had soothed him, gently with hushed words and soft petting, then carried him off to his own bed. The kid pressed close to him, buried his face in the older man’s neck and held on like Tony was a life-line, like he needed this. Tony stroked soothing, slow circles along Peter’s back until he fell into more peaceful dreaming. 

 

That night, they both slept better than they had in years, since before they had started superhero-ing professionally. The comforting presence of each other chased away old fears and darkness like nothing else could. After that night, when Tony had nightmares now, Peter would find his way into the man’s bed without being asked. When Peter’s over-heightened senses left him too anxious and on edge, Tony would hold the kid close under warm blankets until he could finally sleep. Sleeping together, just resting peacefully in each other’s arms, had turned out to be exactly what they both needed.

 

Over time, once-in-a-while shared bed space became a more common occurrence, going from ‘just for nightmares’ to ‘just because’. Tony found he slept better if Peter slept next to him. If the fact that the kid came back every night now was any indication, it could be guessed that the feeling was mutual.

 

One night in chilly December, wrapped up in warm silk sheets and the quiet dark of Tony’s bedroom, Peter placed his hand on the older man’s cheek and stroked gentle circles there with his thumb. They moved in close,  _ too close _ , could feel the heat of each other in the quickly decreasing space between them, and the tender desire that had been building between them finally comes to a head. For Tony, the soft press of Peter’s lips against his felt as natural as breathing. His hands traced over Peter like they  _ belonged _ there.

 

They slept together again the next night, and the night after that, and every night since. 

 

It's one morning over breakfast, over a year after Peter had first moved into the Tower, about 2 months since they’d gotten together, when Tony finally asks him if he'd like to move in upstairs. Peter’s hair is still sleep-mussed, the morning sunlight shining on him through the large windows leaves him glowing,  _ radiant _ . Peter looks up at Tony with an expression on his face that falls somewhere between delightfully amused and just slightly confused.

 

“Tony, I don't know if you know this, but like, I kind of  _ already _ live here,” He says with a slight chuckle, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Peter goes back to his cereal as if he hadn't just dropped a bombshell like that on the older man.

 

Tony, despite being a Literal Genius, often finds that he can miss some very big, very apparent things in his life. Perhaps it is because he tends to hyperfocus, to fixate on building and projects and other distractions. Perhaps it's because he's always been terribly un-observant when it comes to people. But even knowing this, Tony is still absolutely baffled to find that he had not realized that Peter had at some point moved in with him.

 

But now, looking around his penthouse suite,  _ their home _ , he can see the evidence everywhere. Peter’s things had slowly accumulated in Tony’s space; an extra toothbrush by his private bathroom’s sink, Peter’s textbooks and homework occupying the coffee table in the living room. It’d be clear to anyone that knew them just who all of the various Star Wars toys laying around belong to. Tony had even made space in his closet for Peter’s clothes without really thinking about it, without being asked to do so.

 

He’d made space for Peter in his life, in his heart, without ever really noticing. It had not been a planned thing, or any kind of conscious effort. One could suppose that was because it had been so natural for them. Easy as breathing. So gentle and tender that it hadn't drawn any attention. Peter had come to fill a hole in Tony's life that he'd never realized he had. Now that the kid had become a fixture in his world, Tony couldn't imagine  _ not _ living with him.

 

Peter looks back up from his breakfast and across the table to Tony, flashes him one of those sunshine-brilliant smiles the man has come to cherish. Tony can feel his heart squeeze, can feel  the genuine smile on his own face.

 

“Yeah, I suppose you do.” He says, and finds he couldn't be more thrilled about that.

 

Tony and Peter wake up in the morning wrapped up in each other. They take their meals together, fight together, work late nights in the lab together. Their lives are tangled, interwoven together like a web, like a silk-thread tapestry.

 

Tony may not have planned to let Peter in his life like this, close and intimate and  _ so so welcomed _ , but he certainly wouldn't change a thing about it. 

**Author's Note:**

> woo, another one bites the dust~ yeah, i really really do love doing these fluff drabbles, its really relaxing tbh
> 
> I am _always_ open to more requests over on my blog, so if you have an idea for a short prompt feel free to drop me an ask!!! I politely ask that you [check here](https://garbagesinboy.tumblr.com/post/174130959355/starker-drabble-requests) before submitting a request, thanks <3\. if u like my gay writing and have any gay ideas for me, drop em in the inbox yall :V
> 
> thanks for reading! if you liked it, or hated it, or want more of it, or whatever, I'd love to hear about it in the comments! See ya later, space cowboys <3


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